I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our
concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.
Carl Sagan

Introduction
In 2004, a comprehensive study was performed on the ways Florida’s public libraries contribute economically its users, the communities that it serves, and the state as a whole. The study used a variety of data collection and analytical methods, including data reported to the state by the public libraries, a statewide household telephone survey of adults, in-library user surveys of adults, a follow-up survey of the libraries themselves, surveys of organizations and an econometric model.¹

The present study was commissioned to provide an update to the 2004 study. In order to perform a comparable analysis, the statewide telephone survey of adult library users, with some minor changes to the original survey, was re-administered. Additionally, in lieu of the in-house printed survey, an online Internet-based survey was conducted, with links to the survey instrument provided to the public libraries and the State Library and Archives. The links were either included on the library’s home page or posted inside the library. Organizations were also surveyed using an online instrument, with a link to the survey sent via e-mail. The organizations contacted included public and private schools, universities and colleges, businesses and special libraries. The follow-up survey to the libraries themselves was also re-administered to collect information on use by tourists and school-age children and additional information on business-like operations run by the libraries. Where appropriate, findings from the 2004 study were used in the analysis conducted in the present study. This occurred when the findings were on issues unlikely to have changed in the 5-year period between surveys, such as the proportion of adult residents who visit Florida public libraries or the usage of libraries by non-residents.

As in the prior study, a conservative approach to estimating benefits and returns was used throughout the present study. The present study also categorizes the types of library visits utilized by the prior study. These are “(1) recreational and personal or family needs – health and wellness issues, job seeking, day-to-day problems such as consumer purchasing and finances, occasional problems like relocation and house buying, learning about culture or heritage, etc.; (2) educational needs – as students, teachers, home schooling, and lifelong learning; and (3) needs of businesses, non-profit organizations, schools, universities and colleges, government agencies and hospitals, through both direct use by their employees for work-related purposes and through extensive cooperation among librarians within these organizations, facilitated by the publicly supported multi-type library cooperatives in the state.”

Where the present study diverges most significantly from the previous study is in the geographic level of analysis and the addition of an alternate scenario in determining economic impact. In addition to providing analysis at the state level, analysis on economic benefit and ROI are provided at the individual county level. Also, in addition to demonstrating the economic impact of public libraries by modeling the redistribution of their revenues into other government sectors, this study also includes a scenario where the government spending is eliminated entirely, as would be the case if state and local tax revenues failed to collect sufficient monies to fund public libraries.

There are many ways to determine how public libraries contribute to state and local economies and how taxpayers receive return on their investment. This study duplicates the approaches used in the 2004 study and adds one additional social valuation method. Questions were asked of survey participants that were designed to elicit information on the perceived value placed on Florida public libraries by Florida residents. These questions included asking residents to contrast the importance and value of the public library with other public services, asking residents to value the library as a community in its influence on property values, asking residents if the public library is an institution they would choose to have in their neighborhood (versus other types of public services), and exploring perceptions of the public library as economic generator.

The final report consists of two parts. Part 1 contains a stand-alone executive summary report while Part 2 houses a more detailed description of the final analysis that includes an additional discussion of the methodology used and the survey instruments administered.

¹ Taxpayer Return-on-Investment (ROI) in Florida Public Libraries: Detailed Report. September, 2004.